Cannabis is among the most difficult plants to grow. Seeding it per se is a piece of cake. Taking care of it as it flowers, though, is an entirely different thing and you have to be quite careful to pull it off by the book.
What you should know from the start is that medical weed can be grown in a variety of soils. That’s what we’ll be talking about in this article because apart from knowing your marijuana growing tools, you’ll also have to know what your marijuana likes and what it doesn’t.
The Methods of Growing Medical Cannabis
- Aquaponics
Aquaponics is an alternative method of growing marijuana, therefore not many people know about it at the moment. This implies having a tray with weed plants installed on top of an aquarium, with the roots inside of it.
The roots will absorb the water, which is full of nutrients produced by the ammonia converted from the fish. It has been proved that cannabis plants grow to twice the size in aquaponics than they do in soil.
- Aeroponics
In this case, the marijuana plants are harbored in the air in baskets. How do they get the water they need? Well, they don’t – you’ll have to spray them frequently, so they don’t wither.
Even though it sounds awfully counter-intuitive, cultivating cannabis with the aeroponics will give you a yield you won’t believe. But then again, this needs a lot of effort and a lot of mistakes can be made along the way.
- Dirt
The good, old dirt. Just stick the seeds in good soil, keep them in the proper environment and water and fertilize them. This is the messiest methods of all, so you’ll have to prepare for some cleaning up to do.
- Hydroponics
Nope, this isn’t about water, even though it’s got the word “hydro” in it. It’s actually about growing the marijuana plants in troughs filled with gravel. You’ll have to provide water and fertilizer by pouring them through the rocks.
This is a safe and clean way of getting a huge cannabis yield. Just make sure you have reservoirs for the water and the fertilizer underneath the troughs.
- Coconut husks
Obviously, you’ll need to purchase a whole lot of coconuts to get enough husks, but it pays off because cannabis actually grows bigger in this type of soil than in dirt. On the bright side, you can buy coconut coir from various stores.
The fertilizer could cost a little more, due to the different absorption of the husks.
Conclusion
Medical marijuana is an extremely sensitive plant, that’s why you don’t see everyone growing it. All 5 types of soil shown above are great, you just need to find the one that gives the best results for you.
What works for someone might not work for you, so don’t settle for the word of mouth. You can experiment with just one plant, if possible, in order to see which method is best.